Socially Situated Intelligence and Organizations

Submission deadline: 2nd
November 1998

Web page: http://bruce.edmonds.name/ssi/cmot.html

In recent years it has been increasingly recognized that many important
aspects of intelligence are grounded in close interactions with a physical
environment - what is called embodied intelligence. This special issue
addresses the importance of aspects of intelligence and intelligent behavior
that are grounded in interaction with a social environment.

Much research into intelligence and adaptive behavior has been done
from the point of view of single agents. Even work into intelligence and
adaptation in social situations has taken an approach where the intelligence
or ability to adapt is built into the agent separately from the social
situation it is then put into. However, it is clear that there may be a
significant difference between an intelligence that has evolved (or at
least significantly developed) in a social context, and an intelligence
that is not socially grounded in this way.

The special issue aims at identifying the basic differences between
these two conceptions of intelligence and wants to further a better understanding
of the specific mechanisms which make natural or artificial agents social.
In particular, this special issue aims at submissions which study the social
embeddedness of intelligence and intelligent behavior and the extent to
which socially situated intelligence influences the formation, stabilization
and development of organizational structures. In addition to mathematical
models we encourage submissions using computer simulations, artificial
intelligence and artificial life models and techniques in order to study
socially situated intelligence.

Models and computer simulations can target both artificial and natural
agents, so that the following fields are relevant: ethology, sociology,
social sciences, anthropology, artificial life and related fields. We particularly
encourage submissions which compare models and computer simulations with
actual human or animal forms of social organizations.

In the adaptive behavior research community the use of autonomous robots
which are acting in the real world as models of animals (ants, crickets
etc.) has become an accepted tool for scientific investigation which yields
insight into animal behavior and provides a means to implement 'life-like'
robots. In the same way organizational theory can possibly benefit from
the study of robotic models which are interacting in a non-trivial way
in a complex environment. Robots as models of social agents are relevant
to this special issue only if they clearly address the issue of social
embeddedness of intelligence and its implications for organization theory.

Examples of Relevant Topics

evolution and operation of organizations

emergence and self-organization versus design of sociality and organizations

sociality as a prerequisite for the development and evolution of intelligence

cooperative and competitive models of agents in organizations

the impact and emergence of roles and norms in the formation of societies
and organizations

modeling other agents in societies and organizations: theory of mind
and folk psychology

modeling individuals and relationships in a social environments: effective
heuristics for socially embedded agents

mechanisms and levels of social coordination, organization and control
in organizations

co-evolution of social intelligence: prerequisites, differences and
interdependencies between socially situated and individual intelligence

the role, impact, and adaptive value of social intelligence in societies
of agents

evolution of organizations: the role of language, communication, social
learning and imitation

the role of memes and genes in the evolution of human organization
and culture

applications which require artificial social intelligence

the role of teaching and education in the development of socially situated
intelligence

robotic societies as models of organizations

contributions from artificial life and robotics to organization theory

Submission Information

Submissions should be original full papers, that are not published,
nor under consideration for publication elsewhere, although revised versions
of conference papers will be considered. Submitted papers should arrive
no later than November 2, 1998.

The procedure for submission is the normal one for CMOT, but be
sure to specify that your paper is intended for this special issue in a
covering letter.

Submit a cover letter, five copies of your manuscript, and an abstract.
CMOT will acknowledge receipt of your manuscript. Manuscripts are not returned
after review. The cover letter should contain the following information
(failure to provide this information may delay the review of your manuscript):

A request that the paper be submitted for this special issue (as opposed
to being a general submission to CMOT).

Names and addresses, email, fax, and phone of up to four possible reviewers
(or identify individuals that CMOT should not use).

The statement I (we) affirm that my (our) manuscript conforms to the
submission policy of Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory
(see submission policy).

In 50 words or less, justify how and why paper is appropriate for publication
in this special issue of CMOT.

The name, address, email, phone, and fax number for author to whom
correspondence should be sent.